This guide has been read more than 3,500 times - but only a small % have voted :-(   Please help us to improve the content by either voting or providing us with your feedback - thank you!

What Pliers do I need?

If you are just going to be making Necklaces, threaded on Wire (Beadalon or Tigertail), then as a bare minimum you could get away with flat bladed pliers (or smooth faced chain nosed pliers) for squashing crimps and a pair of cutters or sharp scissors for cutting the wire.
If you start making Earrings or are bending 20 gauge wire, then you will need Round Nosed pliers as well. Flat bladed pliers are OK for straightening wire - but if you are using precious metal or want to ensure you do not mark the surface, use nylon jawed pliers.
Ideally - and particularly if you use a lot of crimps - it is well worth investing in a pair of Crimp pliers which will make a tremendous difference to the look of the crimp. More on this later!

My ideal Plier set? Ranked in order of usefulness - and of course, my personal view based on my experience;

1. Smooth Jaw, chain nosed pliers
2. Cutters
3. Round nosed pliers
4. Crimp Tool
5. Flat bladed, smooth faced pliers
6. Nylon Jawed pliers

Quality of Pliers

You get what you pay for! Always buy the best you can afford and ask questions of you supplier. Most pliers are constructed in one of two ways; Overlap (or Lap joint) construction and Box construction.

Lap Joint
The cheapest are so-called ‘lap joint’. The two pieces are simply ‘over lapped’ and held in place by a riveted joint through the centre of the overlap. Over time, the lap joint will wear and the faces or edges will move about slightly, With some very cheap tools, this can happen very quickly – sometimes after just a few operations. This is most noticeable with Round Nosed pliers when you are trying to bend wire at the extreme of the tips - you may find the tips bend sideways!

Box Joint
These tools are machined so that one side of the tool passes through (as opposed to under or over) the other, therefore there are 4 faces in contact with each other rather than the 2 in lap jointed construction. As a result, the two sides cannot move about as much and wear affecting movement of the two pieces is reduced. Basically this means more accurate use for longer!

 Chain Nosed Pliers

Make sure you purchase a pair that have smooth faces. Those available from most hardware shops have serrated faces which will mark your Jewellery!
Chain nosed Pliers are ideal for flattening crimps and getting into tight corners to close crimps or bend wire.

Cutters

Quick warning here; Cutting metal wire often results in small, high velocity, sharp ended bits of wire flying anywhere! For safety's sake you should wear glasses when cutting wire - you have been warned!
As a secondary piece of information - and a very useful tip - buy a proper Bead Mat. Not only do they stop your beads from rolling around, when you are cutting wire, make sure the end to be cut is facing into - or touching - the Bead mat. This helps catch the cut wire without it flying over the room. (Having used one for the first time at our Bead Workshops, virtually everyone buys a Bead Mat before they leave!)

Two types of Cutter are available; Flush cutting and triangular or 'V' shaped edges. Flush cutters tend to be expensive and have finely ground edges. Ideal for cutting right up close to a finding - but beware, their life may be limited if you use them a lot to cut 20 gauge wire (typically used in Findings) - the edges can break They are great for cutting Beading wire close up to an edge.
'V' shaped cutters are better for cutting thicker wire and as the name suggests, they cut the wire leaving a V shape (or arrow!)

Round Nosed Pliers

We have seen some appalling made Round Nosed pliers! Beware those that seem incredibly cheap....Round Nosed pliers come in different sized cones. The closer to the fulcrum point, the larger the diameter. Pliers made by Beading Manufacturers (i.e. Beadsmith, Beadalon) tend to be designed for Jewellery making and are recommended. Note that some pliers touch all of the way along the cones - these are best for very thin wire. Others have a slight gap that gets larger towards the fulcrum point. I would recommend the latter - so long as when you close the jaws, you can still firmly grip your wire all the way along the cones. I have seen many cheap pairs that are only any use at the tips - a waste of money.

A special word on two different types of Round Nosed Pliers. Beadsmith and Beadalon both make pliers that on one jaw have 3 different diameters. The second jaw on the Beadsmith pair is flat, on the Beadalon pair is concave. These pliers are great for making consistent sized wire loops. Both are good, but if you struggle to bend wire with your fingers, due to their concave Jaw, the Beadalon 'Wire Looping' pliers will make making loops easier.

Crimp Tool

Once you have used a (decent) pair of Crimp pliers, you will wonder how you ever did without them! Buy from a reputable manufacturer, who will match the size of the pliers to a specific size of Crimp. Beware of those crimp tools that have a sharp point in the aperture. This quickly wears (after it has stuck to the crimp!) Some cheaper varieties (which I admit, I did sell until I knew better, and now sell because people do not believe you get what you pay for) have too large an aperture and will not crimp your crimp beads unless they are very large.
Beadalon produce good guidance in their on-line catalogue on crimp beads, tubes and crimp tools. If you really like quality, go for crimp tubes and the correct sized plier. If you are not one for quality - try our cheap crimp pliers - but be warned, you will likely regret it.

****Please see our guide to Crimps & Crimping for more on Crimp Tools and Crimping****

Flat Bladed, Smooth faced pliers

Smooth is the operative word here! Make sure your pliers are not too large - but strong enough to be able to bend and flatten wire without bending the pliers (as will happen with cheap tools)

Nylon Jawed Pliers

I have to admit to never using these. I have always found using flat bladed pliers to do the job for me. That said, if you are using a lot of soft metal (i.e. Gold!) then they are likely to be worth the investment.

We hope you have found this guide useful...

Please let us know if we have missed something or you would like to see advice on a particular subject. And dont forget, we stock an excellent range of Pliers, Crimp Tools and Crimps in our shop.